Nikos Papaioannou expressed the government’s unequivocal condemnation of the violent incidents that took place at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

In his statement, the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, responsible for Higher Education, referred to “completely unacceptable and dangerous acts of violence,” mentioning attacks allegedly carried out by hooded individuals and extremist groups against students during an academic procedure.

Full statement by the Deputy Minister of Education:

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms the absolutely unacceptable and dangerous incidents of violence that took place at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), involving attacks by hooded individuals and extremist groups against students during an academic process.

The Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports is in direct and continuous communication with the university authorities. From the very first moment, we were informed by the rectorate authorities that all prescribed procedures were activated and that the institutional and operational protocol for safeguarding security within university institutions was fully followed. The competent authorities acted immediately, while a full investigation into all circumstances and those involved is already underway.

Based on the findings of the investigation, the existing framework for security in Higher Education Institutions will be fully implemented, without discounts, without tolerance and without exceptions. Wherever responsibility exists, it will be assigned.

The New Democracy government has proven that it will not allow universities to return to the dark eras of violence, impunity and the dominance of organized groups. The vast majority of students, academics and society demand safety, normality and academic freedom. And this is exactly what we will ensure with determination.”

The government’s unequivocal condemnation of the incidents of violence that occurred at Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki was expressed by the Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, responsible for Higher Education, Nikos Papaioannou.

In a statement, the deputy minister referred to “absolutely unacceptable and dangerous incidents of violence,” referring to the attacks that he noted were carried out by hooded figures and extremist groups against students during academic proceedings.

A detailed statement by the Deputy Minister of Education

“We condemn in the most categorical way the absolutely unacceptable and dangerous incidents of violence that occurred at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), with attacks by hooded figures and extremist groups against students during academic proceedings.

The Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports is in direct and constant communication with the authorities of the University. From the very first moment, it was informed by the Rector’s authorities that all the foreseen procedures were activated and the institutional and operational protocol foreseen for the protection of security within the university institutions was fully followed. The competent authorities acted immediately, and a full investigation of all the circumstances and those involved is already underway.

Based on the findings of the investigation, the current framework for security in Higher Education Institutions will be implemented in its entirety, with no discounts, no tolerance and no exceptions. Where there are responsibilities, they will be assigned.

The Government of the New Democracy has proven that it will not allow universities to return to the dark ages of violence, impunity and the domination of organized groups. The vast majority of students, academics and society demand security, normality and academic freedom. And that is exactly what we will resolutely ensure.”